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Local singer appears on ‘Celebration of Music’

Bryan County resident Molly Elizabeth Gibson recently displayed her musical ability on the Celebration of Music contest, hosted by Ethan Bortnick, and aired on WUFT Gainesville (Fla.) Public Broadcasting.

Bortnick said he started the show as a talent search and to give young people “the chance to share their incredible talents” and play host to them at local PBS studios nationwide.

“I auditioned to pursue my dream of performing, Gibson said.

She was filmed in June 2017, the show aired in Sept. 2017.

“The original concert where the winner would be announced was planned for Sept. 10, 2017, however, it was postponed to Feb. 4 due to hurricane Irma,” she said.

While Gibson was not the winner in Gainesville she loved the experience.

“It is such a gift from the Lord to have been given this opportunity and experience to be a part of Celebration of Music - it renewed my love of singing,” she said.

Gibson’s biography on the Celebration of Music websites says when she was eight, Gibson, her mother and two oldest brothers (she is the youngest of five children) discovered the group Celtic Woman while watching PBS introducing her to her musical role models.

Since that time Celtic Woman has been playing around her home with her dreaming of performing with them one day. The in 2013 Gibson was offered the opportunity to take voice lessons under an original member of the group, Lisa Kelly, which she did for two and a half years. She also appeared on stage with her, along with the rest of Kelly’s students, in several of her concerts.

Over the past few years Gibson has won two Irish singing competitions, was a top 10 finalist in another and performed the part of Liesl von Trapp in a local production of “The Sound of Music.”

The contest searches for talent in local markets, with a national concert at the end of the year for the winners from these different markets. Viewers can vote for their favorite performer in upcoming competitions at celebrationofmusic.com/